Pinnacle Motor Works
In 1983 Larry founded PMW. Larry's new business partner is Yung S.Tan (Wing) since 2003; he is a Master Technician with 23+ years experience and a BOSCH Certified Technician.
Pinnacle Motor Works, Inc. specializes in all German automobiles. They have a state of the art shop and all equipment is up to date.
The Pinnacle Team
Larry M. Goodman is the Owner and President of Pinnacle Motor Works Inc. (PMW) and he is a car enthusiast. Larry's first car was a 1958 190 Diesel Mercedes. He started his career with a Mercedes dealership after graduating College at the Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1975. Larry acquired his USA Master ASE Technician L1 Certification in 1997. He worked for a Mercedes dealership in Plainfield, NJ from 1975 until 1978 and the Ray Catena BMW dealership between 1978 and 1983 as a technician.
The shop currently has 6 factory trained employees and they are helping Larry's dream of a perfect Service Center come through.
Certifications & Affiliations
- State Approved Vehicle Repair
- State Emissions Inspection
- State Emissions Repair
- State Safety Inspection
PMW has all the electronic and computerized diagnostic tools, that any dealership and makes sure that all their technicians and staff are continuously participating in current training and education courses to keep up with the latest advancements of automotive technology. While they are specializing in European models if you have any other make or model as second or third car they will be happy and qualified to take care of those automobiles too.
Tell them you found them on BimmerShops.com!
5 Responses about
Pinnacle Motor Works
Have you used Pinnacle Motor Works? Help out other BMW owners by sharing your experience in the comments section below.
October 1st, 2011
My BMW 325xi came off the dealer warranty - so I was looking for a nearby service center that had extensive experience with BMWs when I came across Pinnacle in this Bimmer Shops forum. I was a little hesitant at 1st based on the 1st review that is posted but I decided I'd give them a try anyway.
I had my oil and filter changed and the car fully checked out. They discovered my front rims were bent and that my tires were shot. They showed me exactly what was wrong to my satisfaction. This definitely explained why there was so much road noise and a rough ride from my car.
Larry took the time to answer all of my questions and provided a competitive estimate (which I compared with other shops as well as dealers).
I had all the work done within a week and the car rides even better than when I took it off the show room floor in 2006.
I HIGHLY recommend Larry as a person with integrity and Pinnacle Motors as an experienced, knowledgeable, HONEST and competitively priced place to have all your repairs done.
I plan on returning for any work required on my BMW in the future.
I couldn't be happier.
August 13th, 2011
I recently moved to the area and needed a reliable mechanic to oversee the maintenance of my 2003 BMW 325 Ci. I few warning lamps signaled on my dash and I took my car to Pinnacle to have it checked out. They told me that once I dropped the car off, the battery was completely dead and would not start, so the battery need to be replaced immediately. This seemed odd to me, as the battery showed no signs of failure prior to this date. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and they replaced the battery.
I had them speak with my father who lives in another state, as he more knowledgeable about cars than I. After Pinnacle realized that I was a single female living away from home, it is my opinion that Pinnacle chose to capitalize on this “opportunity” and take advantage of my ill-perceived ignorance and my parents’ fear of my lack of reliable transportation. They immediately called me and stated that in order to solve all my car’s problems, they would have to complete several repairs, at an estimated cost of over $3600. Taking my father’s advice, I retrieved my car and got a second opinion.
Upon having the car checked by a second shop, I was told that several of the “necessary” repairs outlined by Pinnacle were actually nonexistent. For example, Pinnacle told me that my rim was bent, and that my tire was worn dangerously low (even though the tire looked perfectly normal to me). The second opinion told me that the rim did present a scratch, which was only of cosmetic significance, and the tires were in perfectly good condition.
Secondly, Pinnacle told me that my power steering hose was leaking and the entire hose assembly needed to be replaced. The honest repair shop searched, but could not find an actual leak. They did find power steering fluid, but saw that my fluid levels were normal, and offered to look at my car again in a week free of charge, to determine if there was a minor seepage that needed to be addressed long into the future, certainly not immediately.
Plain and simple, Pinnacle lied to both myself and my father. They assumed that I was completely incapable of understanding basic car maintenance (as they changed the battery, they kindly explained to me that a car needs power to run, and that a battery supplies power to a car…thanks for clearing that up!). They are dishonest and are only looking for ways to separate you from your money. It is one thing to offer options for repair, but it is quite another to lie about repairs that are not needed whatsoever. Beware!
September 23rd, 2011
Hi Charlotte,
This is Larry Goodman, owner and operator of Pinnacle Motor Works. I understand that you’re upset, and I think it’s a result some misunderstandings around our procedure and policies that I’d like to clear up.
First, your car. As you mentioned, you brought it to us with several warning lights on: the alternator, check engine and anti-lock braking system. When the car was turned off and we went to restart it, we found the battery was dead. We had to replace the battery to complete the diagnosis, which led to our finding that the alternator had gone bad, explaining the several warning lights and dead battery. The alternator keeps the battery charged, and when it’s offline, the car will experience a cascading series of failures as the battery loses power, each system that relies on it also goes offline, and eventually the car lacks the power to start all together. We replaced the battery and the alternator for a total repair cost of about $1300 and the car was drivable again and returned. That’s the service you came for, and we provided it to a satisfactory conclusion.
Here’s where the misunderstanding comes in. With every service, we provide a complimentary inspection and give our recommendations for returning the car to peak condition in safety and performance. We present these findings to the customer as an estimate as we start work so they can consider which of the repairs, if any, they would like us to perform. We never categorize these recommendations as critical or immediately necessary (unless they are), only that they’ll return the car to peak condition. That was our process with your car, and before we started work we presented you and your father with the $1300 figure to replace the battery and alternator and our itemized estimate, which came to $2300. You agreed to the battery and alternator, declined the services in our estimate, paid for the $1300 repair and drove the car off. We always welcome second opinions and I can’t comment on what the other shop did or didn’t find, but I can say that we stand by our estimate and would be happy to explain our findings for you in detail free of charge.
It took reading this review to learn that you were dissatisfied with our service. Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and if you told us at the time of your repair that you were upset, we would have taken the steps to make it right. But where I take issue is being called a liar. I’ve been in business for 28 years, serving thousands of customers, men and women of all levels of auto expertise, many of whom have been taking their cars to Pinnacle for years if not decades. The shop that you describe, one who lies and preys on customer ignorance, would have been the target of a local news expose long ago and out of business shortly thereafter. Most customers don’t know much about how their cars work, and we rely on their recommendation to bring in new business. Good work and fastidious honesty are our only tools to make that happen, and they’ve kept the doors open for nearly three decades. Customers have had grievances, they’ve voiced them to us, and we’ve taken care of them to the satisfaction of all parties. I wish you had done the same before writing your review, and I hope there’s still an opportunity to address your concern. Feel free to call anytime.
Sincerely,
Larry Goodman
Owner
908-647-1799
August 19th, 2010
Excellent is the only word to describe my experience with Pinnacle. From when I first called them on the phone they were very knowledgeable. I brought the car over without an appointment at night and they completed a thorough inspection and had an estimate by 3 the next day. Once I decided on a course of action everything was completed quickly and correctly. They are competitively priced and the service is great. I would recommend them to anyone.
October 11th, 2009
I actually don't own a BMW, but I have a Porsche and a classic Volvo P1800 and have used Pinnacle for a number of years. Larry runs a great and professional shop. Their customer service is excellent and they care about both the driver and the car.
If you are looking for an honest mechanic with expertise in European and Japanese cars, I have no reservations recommending Pinnacle.
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